"Merveille de l'Occident" (Wonder of the West) and important pilgrimage site since the Middle Ages, the Mont-Saint-Michel is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and attracts visitors from all over the world. Dedicated to Saint-Michel in 708, the mount is the most visited site in France today. Rising in the middle of a magnificent wild bay, the Mont-Saint-Michel arouses delight and admiration, with its abbey perched on top of a rocky island and its medieval town surrounded by ramparts. Once passed the fortified gates marking the entrance to the village, walkers and pilgrims discover at first the Grande-Rue high street, its old granite residences, its museums and its souvenirs shops. In this lively street, the Mère Poulard restaurant is a well-known place renowned for its omelettes. After climbing the hillside of Grande-Rue as well as the Grand Degré stair leading to the sanctuary, the visit of the abbey can commence.
Dominated by the tower of its abbey church, the Benedictine abbey of the Mont-Saint-Michel offers a magnificent variety of architecture ranging from the 11th to the 16th century. The 11th-century Romanesque abbey church; the monks' covered walkway; the Merveille, a set of six rooms on three levels that are the refectory, the Hosts room, the aumônerie, the cloister, the Knights room and the cellar, all constituting a remarkable example of religious art.
After the visit, a stroll on the rampart walk (chemin de ronde) situated at the foot of the abbey is imperative. From there, the view of the residences of the medieval town and the bay is splendid.
